Has anybody seen this guy play? I know his stats are off the charts, but I'm interested in his fielding. I know he's 5"9" 156 lbs (Mel Ott was 5'9", 170 lbs and hit 511 home runs), but the fact he hits with power is not that surprising. My guess they will move him quickly, maybe Pawtucket by July 1.

Would like impressions of thoise who have seen him in Portland, this year.

Has anybody seen this guy play? I know his stats are off the charts, but I'm interested in his fielding. I know he's 5"9" 156 lbs (Mel Ott was 5'9", 170 lbs and hit 511 home runs), but the fact he hits with power is not that surprising. My guess they will move him quickly, maybe Pawtucket by July 1.

Would like impressions of thoise who have seen him in Portland, this year.

We have been talking a lot about Betts being moved from 2B for this very reason. He could be a quick improvement to our lineup as early as next season so the sooner our FO moves him into a position that can actually help he's just a back up to Pede if he gets hurt.

Has anybody seen this guy play? I know his stats are off the charts, but I'm interested in his fielding. I know he's 5"9" 156 lbs (Mel Ott was 5'9", 170 lbs and hit 511 home runs), but the fact he hits with power is not that surprising. My guess they will move him quickly, maybe Pawtucket by July 1.

Would like impressions of thoise who have seen him in Portland, this year.

His defense is really really good. I can't post links but just google Mookie Betts, he has some defensively plays that I've seen very little 2nd baseman make.

On another note, I saw Mookie earlier this year. He is simply not being challenged, Even his outs are loud, and he makes good contact EVERY at bat. He's really moving up fast too, and it seems that every second base prospect is having a really really good start to the year.

Salems Reed Gragnani is the only other player not named Mookie Betts with a .400 BA and also boasts a 1.027 OPS

Greenvilles Wendell Rijo is one of the youngest players in all of A ball with a .955 OPS and as many walks as strike outs.

Heck even Salems Carlos Asuaje (who is a second baseman playing a lot of 3B) is leading the entire system in OPS, even ahead of Mookie.

Makes you wonder what Victor Acosta and Mauricio Dubon will do in June. Just for the record as a 17 year old Victor Acosta set the red sox DSL record for homeruns with 8. Yes....no one ever hits home runs in the GCL, even Bogaerts had only 3.

So pretty much the Sox have the best 2nd Base prospect in the minor leagues and tremendous depth behind him.

Oh and you may have heard of the guy at the top of the system in Fenway.

Call him up the majors!! But honestly where will he play hmm. LF is the only open spot but maybe we can move Victorino there to preserve his body and Betts will play RF? Oh well time will tell but it's exciting to see all these prospect do well since at least 2-4 will be all-star.

Has anybody seen this guy play? I know his stats are off the charts, but I'm interested in his fielding. I know he's 5"9" 156 lbs (Mel Ott was 5'9", 170 lbs and hit 511 home runs), but the fact he hits with power is not that surprising. My guess they will move him quickly, maybe Pawtucket by July 1.

Would like impressions of thoise who have seen him in Portland, this year.

I saw ihim in limited time in Ft. Myers and he was the most exciting player there not named Grady.

I later saw him in Portland where he had nothing but routine chances so I didn't see anything to rave about defensively. He was 0-for-his first three AB's and scorched a double down the LF line in his 4th AB, but EVERYTHING was hit 'on the screws'.

I know that's a small sample size but it's the best I've got. :-)

Having the right to do something doesn't make it the right thing to do.

I think it was Moon? Who say him as a super utility guy 2nd half of this year and that seems like a pretty good idea to me. I mean, Herrera & Holt are nice but that's one area we could benefit from a lift. (By the way, I am getting a little tired of the off-days JF gives when we need to improve our record substantially).

I think it was Moon? Who say him as a super utility guy 2nd half of this year and that seems like a pretty good idea to me. I mean, Herrera & Holt are nice but that's one area we could benefit from a lift. (By the way, I am getting a little tired of the off-days JF gives when we need to improve our record substantially).

Over here in Boston they are really hyping him up. They say he may be playing in Triple AAA after the all star break. I never seen him play he looks like a good athlete. If he can play multipule positions it bodes well for him to be on the club sooner then later. I think second base is taken for now and in the future.

I think it was Moon? Who say him as a super utility guy 2nd half of this year and that seems like a pretty good idea to me. I mean, Herrera & Holt are nice but that's one area we could benefit from a lift. (By the way, I am getting a little tired of the off-days JF gives when we need to improve our record substantially).

Over here in Boston they are really hyping him up. They say he may be playing in Triple AAA after the all star break. I never seen him play he looks like a good athlete. If he can play multipule positions it bodes well for him to be on the club sooner then later. I think second base is taken for now and in the future.

What positions aren't blocked right now?

2B

SS

3B

CF

are best prospects are catchers........

We need a LF by end of this year

Right Field and 1B by end of next year

DH by end of next year too

So what's that say? We've got a lotta athletes to play up the middle which is great but our future looks to have a serious power outage. We need to start planning accordingly.

Of course, pitching is something you hoard as best you can regardless.......

Yes lets bring up a 21 year old in AA who has video game numbers but barely 100 at bats above Single A.

And then when he struggles to adjust to MLB pitching right away we can create another thread at the end of this year and the beginning of next season trashing Mookie Betts and then talk about bringing up the next kid who is raking in Salem or Portland. (Wendell Rijo????) and then complain until the day he is traded about how he will never hit MLB pitching.

Power outage all over baseball. If you look at the amount of HR hitters who hit over 30 HR's every year it is drastically lower than it was 10 years ago.

A lot of teams draft power guys, and they almost never pan out. That is because unless you are picking in the top slot of the draft you are never going to get the guranteed power guy.

Teams like NY will draft guys who have power and not much more tools (because they aren't there later in the draft) with the hope that they develop power.

Meanwhile the Sox take athletic, up the middle, defenders and hope the power comes.

The opposite of a team like NY.

The results are this. When a guy doesn't develop power (which is on the decline and not as vital today) a team like NYY are left with a bust of a prospect.

If the player Boston drafts never develops the power, they are often still left with a capable defender who can back up, play mutliple positions...and with a little development become everyday regular players.

Also if a player fails at SS but can hit you just move him to 2B/3B/LF/RF depending on where he plays best. When the power guy at 1B doesn't hit well he really can't add any more value at a defense first position, and if he is to slow for even a corner outfield or 1st base then you are effectively left with a DH.

All it takes is for one guy to hit to end up with the next Mike Trout....but the Sox formula for developing up the middle players and pitchers has built one of the best player develop programs in all of baseball, help contribute to 3 world series in 10 years, and currently led to MLB's strongest (or at least one of the strongest farms)

I would love to see a power bat too....but the reality is the Sox don't have one because there are just so very very very few of those guys that exist.

It would be nice to have a guy like Joey Gallo in our system...but most systems don't have a Joey Gallo, just like a lot of systems don't have a Xander Bogaerts, or a Mookie Betts.

We do have some guys who could develop some serious power one day, but they are far away: Raphael Devers seems poised to be our best bet for a power bat in the system after Bogaerts who hasn't shown the same power in the bigs as he did in the minors; then again Xander NEVER showed any power in the minors at any level until about 6 weeks into the season.

NY system is broken. They have some power guys, but A.) they are all either 1st baseman or projected to move to first. If they don't develop power they are good for almost nothing else....and fine hitting first baseman are much easier to find than good hitting up the middle players and with players like AROD/McCann poised to become DH's in the near distant future what are all those first base type worth?

Of course you could say that Gary Sanchez has a huge future in NY, but then that means you have to move McCann in which case all their prospects (who will probably bust anyways knowing NY) are no value other than trade value to NY. Meanwhile a guy like Mookie has the athleticism to move to more positions than not on the diamond. Which is why Bostons philosophy of drafting up the middle players is much more superior than drafting toolsy guys.

Yes, we may end up with less power hitters over the next 30 years but A.) teams are built by 9 men on the field not one slugger and B.) we can always go out and trade for, or sign that one guy.

Yes lets bring up a 21 year old in AA who has video game numbers but barely 100 at bats above a ball

And then when he struggles to adjust to MLB pitching right away we can create another thread at the end of this year and the beginning of next season trashing Mookie Betts and then talk about bringing up the next kid who is raking in Salem or Portland. (Wendell Rijo????) and then complain until the day he is traded about how he will never hit MLB pitching

Yes lets bring up a 21 year old in AA who has video game numbers but barely 100 at bats above a ball

And then when he struggles to adjust to MLB pitching right away we can create another thread at the end of this year and the beginning of next season trashing Mookie Betts and then talk about bringing up the next kid who is raking in Salem or Portland. (Wendell Rijo????) and then complain until the day he is traded about how he will never hit MLB pitching

Mookie is different. He is our Mike Trout.

I'm not sure Mookie is going to be Trout like player but I would like to see him play somewhere other than 2B ASAP then brought up later in the year to help out where needed. I don't think he should be brought up as a utility player at the big league level before playing other positions in the minors.

Yes lets bring up a 21 year old in AA who has video game numbers but barely 100 at bats above a ball

And then when he struggles to adjust to MLB pitching right away we can create another thread at the end of this year and the beginning of next season trashing Mookie Betts and then talk about bringing up the next kid who is raking in Salem or Portland. (Wendell Rijo????) and then complain until the day he is traded about how he will never hit MLB pitching

Mookie is different. He is our Mike Trout.

I'm assuming you are being a bit sarcastic here. I'd love for him to be our Mike Trout, but the only player in our Organization that has that kinda ceiling is Bogaerts, and seeing how he probably won't ever be a top defender at a premium position I don't Bogaerts will ever be Trout.

....and that's ok, that's not a knock, because Mike Trout might be thee BEST player in all the game,.

Yes lets bring up a 21 year old in AA who has video game numbers but barely 100 at bats above Single A.

And then when he struggles to adjust to MLB pitching right away we can create another thread at the end of this year and the beginning of next season trashing Mookie Betts and then talk about bringing up the next kid who is raking in Salem or Portland. (Wendell Rijo????) and then complain until the day he is traded about how he will never hit MLB pitching.

This is not your average 21 year old kid; he'll be 22 before the world series is over. But it appears he is a mature younf=g man. AND, when have we seen a pure hitter like this? He's got to come up this year; at what position? I have idea, but right now I would huess SS.

The first thing the Red Sox must do is to move Mookie off of second base to a place where we need someone----and how about CF? Say what you will if you are a Jackie Bradley fan but the guy didn't do much in his short stay with us last season, has a very bad ST and couldn't buy a hit, and how is struggling to hit this year. That's a pretty good sample size to tell me that this kid might not ever be a hitter. Betts is, and he can run and steal bases and he can bunt for base hits and he doesn't strike out a ton. If Bradley doesn't start to get his hitting in gear he needs to be sent down. His lack of hitting has created a ripple effect throughout the lineup, though he is not the lone culprit, just the biggest.

Yes lets bring up a 21 year old in AA who has video game numbers but barely 100 at bats above Single A.

And then when he struggles to adjust to MLB pitching right away we can create another thread at the end of this year and the beginning of next season trashing Mookie Betts and then talk about bringing up the next kid who is raking in Salem or Portland. (Wendell Rijo????) and then complain until the day he is traded about how he will never hit MLB pitching.

This is not your average 21 year old kid; he'll be 22 before the world series is over. But it appears he is a mature younf=g man. AND, when have we seen a pure hitter like this? He's got to come up this year; at what position? I have idea, but right now I would huess SS.

I think we see him 2015, but who knows. He does have some serious helium right now and it would be very exciting if he did find his way up this year.

The assumption is these kids don't get instruction in the minor leagues re. other positions.

Just like at the ML level they are trying to give guys that are already playing multiple positions additional pre-game instruction on field to get them comfortable with other positions. Ex. Carp was working with Butterfield taking grounders at 3 B a few weeks ago. You never know when someone might be pressed into an unfamiliar position for whatever reason.

For a kid like Betts he may be asking for added instruction or the minor league coordinator perhaps has made it known management wants Betts to get some direction for playing the outfield or other infield positions.

Who knows what the right answer is---maybe they would move Pedroia to the left side of the infield to play SS or 3 B if Betts continued his exceptional play. Yes I know so you would potentially move two players to other positions to accommodate one? Possibly--both Xander and Pedroia have history on the left side--will it happen I strongly doubt it.

The assumption is these kids don't get instruction in the minor leagues re. other positions.

Just like at the ML level they are trying to give guys that are already playing multiple positions additional pre-game instruction on field to get them comfortable with other positions. Ex. Carp was working with Butterfield taking grounders at 3 B a few weeks ago. You never know when someone might be pressed into an unfamiliar position for whatever reason.

For a kid like Betts he may be asking for added instruction or the minor league coordinator perhaps has made it known management wants Betts to get some direction for playing the outfield or other infield positions.

Who knows what the right answer is---maybe they would move Pedroia to the left side of the infield to play SS or 3 B if Betts continued his exceptional play. Yes I know so you would potentially move two players to other positions to accommodate one? Possibly--both Xander and Pedroia have history on the left side--will it happen I strongly doubt it.

No chance of their moving Pedroia. None. SS. LF, PH, DH only way Betts gets used this year. But who knows about injuries? Or, about his ability to adjust and learn. I he can hit, they'll find a place. But, it won't be at 2B.

The assumption is these kids don't get instruction in the minor leagues re. other positions.

Just like at the ML level they are trying to give guys that are already playing multiple positions additional pre-game instruction on field to get them comfortable with other positions. Ex. Carp was working with Butterfield taking grounders at 3 B a few weeks ago. You never know when someone might be pressed into an unfamiliar position for whatever reason.

For a kid like Betts he may be asking for added instruction or the minor league coordinator perhaps has made it known management wants Betts to get some direction for playing the outfield or other infield positions.

Who knows what the right answer is---maybe they would move Pedroia to the left side of the infield to play SS or 3 B if Betts continued his exceptional play. Yes I know so you would potentially move two players to other positions to accommodate one? Possibly--both Xander and Pedroia have history on the left side--will it happen I strongly doubt it.

Pedey wouldn't move for Betts....if anything Betts will move to SS.

Pedey was moved off of SS because his skills transitioned better at 2Nd. Perhaps the same is true for Mookie as it is common, but I think it had a lot to do with the system being flush with short stops and when Mookie was in Lowelll he wasn't highly regarded and Boston had just drafted Marrero and plugged him at SS down in short season A.

I'm not sure how strong Pedroias arm is, but Betts has a solid to better arm which would play on the left side of the infield....also not to mention that Pedey is a lot older and the veteran starter....he's not going to move to a harder position to accommodate the youngster who may even be a better SS than Pedroia.

I think Pedey would play a decent SS but he is already a GG at 2nd. So to me it makes more sense to move Betts there if he is at least going to be just as good at the position as Pedey. Of course.....he might still be moving to the outfield as well.